Gaming Consoles Parental Controls - The Cyber Safety Tech Mum

Parental Controls for Gaming Consoles

Gaming consoles are very popular these days and a whole lot fun for the family! They are also connected to the internet which automatically means that children are in a position whey they can either stumble upon or go looking for content that isn’t approprate for their age.

Many gaming consoles today have parental control features to help you block mature content and some even help you to manage the amount of time you child uses it for.

I’ve picked some popular models and noted their major parental control features for you with links to help you with the setup.

Parental Controls for XBox One

XBox One has a Family function which allows you to create accounts for adults and children. By creating a Microsoft account for each user, you can set age-appropriate limits.

You can set limits for the types (rated – eg. PG) of games that your child can see when they browse the Microsoft store, put a limit on how much they can spend as well as review the games that they have purchased.

Set time limits on how long they play for and restrict the web browser so that it doesn’t allow them to view Adult content.

Click here for step-by-step details on how to setup an account for your child and configure the restrictions to suit their age/s.

Parental Controls for Playstation 4

By creating profiles for your children and setting a PIN, you can lock the parental controls you have configured for Playstation 4.

Ensure your child is not playing games that are beyond their years, restrict the web browser so that it doesn’t allow adult content and restrict the Network features so that your child is only communicating with people that you have approved.

Click here for step-by-step details on how to setup parental controls for Playstation 4.

Related Article: Worried about your child’s online gaming?

Parental Controls for Nintendo Switch

Nintendo Switch have a free parental controls app that is available for smart devices. If you don’t have a smart device, then you can still access some (not all) parental controls via the console.

If the amount of time your child is spending on their Nintendo Switch is a concern, then can view which games your child has been playing and for how long. You can then set a daily time limit for how long they can play.

The parental controls also allow you restrict the devices features based on our child’s age and lock them in using a PIN.

Click here to for details on how to setup parental controls on Nintendo Switch.

Managing Gaming Consoles with Family Zone

With Family Zone, you can connect as many gaming consoles as you like to the Family Zone Home Box. The box filters content to the consoles and allows you to manage screen time (ie – how much time you child spends gaming!).

To find out more about how you can use Family Zone for you gaming consoles, click here.